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Firefighters at the footwear shop in Sakchi on Friday. Picture by Bhola Prasad
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Footwear and furniture worth over Rs 4.5 lakh were gutted when a fire broke out on Friday around 2.30pm at a leading footwear shop on Kalimati Road in Sakchi near Basant Talkies.
The cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit in one of the two air-conditioners at the shop’s rear. The flames then spread, gutting a huge stock of footwear.
Spotting the flames, an onlooker called up police and the government fire station at Golmuri.
Within 15 minutes, a fire brigade reached the spot, but it proved inadequate to douse the flames. Two more fire brigades were pressed into service. Firemen took an hour to combat the blaze.
Despite the billowing smoke, employees of the store also helped minimise the damage by bringing out the new footwear stock from the burning shop.
Store owner Manjit Singh thanked his employees as well as the firemen. “When I came to know about the blaze, the fire station had already been informed. The firemen did a good job as not only did they prevent the flames from spreading to neighbouring shops, they saved a part of my store from being gutted,” he added.
Sakchi police OC I.B. Ojha has confirmed electrical short circuit as the reason behind the blaze.
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